How To Train Your Dovahkiin
by KingFriendzone
Summary: Ten years ago, Hiccup fled his home to protect his one true friend, his dragon Toothless. Facing death, he prayed to whatever gods were listening that they would save them. One heard his prayer. Akatosh, Chief of the Nine Divines. He rescued them and brought them to Nirn where they became legends. Now, the two must return to Berk to save the very people that scorned him for years.
1. Loss of an heir

Thirteen year old Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, son of Chief Stoic the Vast and heir to the throne of the island of Berk stared down onto his home from atop the mountain overlooking the village. He could see the lights and hear the sounds of merriment coming from the Great Hall. The villagers were celebrating. Why? Because only hours earlier the elder of the village had chosen him, the boy rumored to be the worst Viking in the history of the Archipelago, to kill a dragon as part of finishing Dragon Training at the top of his class.

For most young Vikings it would have been a dream come true. But for Hiccup, killing a dragon had become an impossibility. Because weeks earlier he had found and befriended a dragon. But not just any dragon, a Night Fury, the unholy offspring of Lightning and Death itself. He had learned so much about them from his friend. How they could think, learn, and understand. How they could be gentle and kind or curious and inquisitive. Toothless had become the most important thing in the world to him and because of that he couldn't bring himself to kill a captured dragon that had done him no harm. Now he and his dragon had to leave. They would never be accepted as they were by his tribe and if he ever revealed Toothless' existence to them they would likely kill him. No, the only option left to them now was to leave. To exile themselves and pray that they would find peace somewhere far away from Berk and the Barbaric Archipelago.

Toothless crooned with concern for his rider as he felt the melancholy and despair that filled his friends being. "I'm fine bud," Said Hiccup in his nasally voice. "I'll just…I'll feel better when this place is behind us." Toothless crooned again and Hiccup rubbed him gently on the head before turning away from the scene of the village. "Let's get out of here bud." He said quietly.

Toothless hummed and spread his massive wings before leaping off the small ledge where they had stopped. When they reached a decent height they angled away towards the east. But before they lost sight of the island, Hiccup looked back, a single tear running down his cheek.

"Goodbye dad…goodbye…Astrid." And Berk was lost to his sight behind a thick gray cloud.

~oOo~

Astrid sighed once again as she made her way back to the village from the forest. She had spent the past few hours searching for Hiccup, intent on questioning him about his abilities with the dragons, and if she was honest, to give him a little punishment for embarrassing her and making her look weak in front of the whole tribe. She had searched for hours and had found absolutely nothing, and so she had walked back, both angry and disappointed at the same time.

Just as she had reached the edge of the village the familiar sound of flapping dragon's wings reached her ears and she instantly drew her axe in preparation for battle. But when she finally spotted the source she gasped and almost dropped her beloved weapon. Flying away from the village was a dragon, as black as night and at a speed that astonished her. But what really shocked her was that sitting on the monsters back was a small rider.

"H-Hiccup?" She asked. However, the creature and its mysterious passenger disappeared behind a thick cloud before she could get a clearer look. With a wary look back, Astrid sheathed her axe and continued into the village.

The next day, no-one could find Hiccup, and for ten years the war against the dragons raged, however, the terrifying and mysterious Night Fury was never heard from again…at least for a while.


	2. Ascendance from Agony

Weeks later, somewhere beyond the Archipelago

Hiccup sighed as he scanned the horizon once again for any sign of land. He and Toothless had been flying for hours with no sign of even a sea stack to land and rest. The strain was taking its toll on the Night Fury. His wings dragged and his head drooped with exhaustion. If they didn't find somewhere to rest soon they would crash into the ocean and drown.

Hiccup scanned the horizon once again and once again came up with nothing. He glanced down at Toothless and saw the exhaustion in the dragon's eyes. His jaw clenched with sadness for his friend and he held back a shudder of fear and sadness. Feeling lost, he found himself uttering a tiny prayer.

"Gods… I know I haven't exactly been perfect. I've made a lot of mistakes in my life and I know you probably don't care. But please, if anyone…thing…god, can hear me, help me save Toothless. I can't live without him. Please… Help us…"

A few moments passed and he scanned the horizon again before a sudden intense floating light appeared in front of them. Toothless flared his wings and hovered in front of the light, turning his head away to shield his eyes as Hiccup raised a hand to do the same.

When his eyes had adjusted, Hiccup stared into the light and froze. Standing, or rather, floating there was a man, powerfully built, wearing simple white robes. He had shaggy gray hair and a thick gray beard running down to his chest. Around his neck he wore a heavy iron chain with a wooden hourglass hanging from one of the links. His feet were bare and he stood on the open air as if on solid ground. His face wore a mask of serenity and calmness. His eyes, however, were the most striking feature. They glowed with a warm golden light and held a gentle gleam to them.

The floating man stared at them silently for several moments and finally Hiccup spoke, his voice hoarse and nervous. "Who…who are you?" he asked quietly. The man gave a warm smile before speaking in a deep voice that seemed to echo with power and authority

 **"I have many names young one. Some call me Akatosh, some call me Auriel, and some call me Alkosh. But to you and your Night Fury I am Bormahu, or father in the language of dragons."** As he spoke the words, Toothless' eyes widened with recognition and he dipped his head in reverence. Hiccup was confused to say the least, but before he could ask what was happening, Akatosh continued speaking. **"I am not one of your Gods. My world is not this one and my domain is not in this plane. But I have heard your pleas and I have chosen to claim you as my own. I do this because I believe that you and your Night Fury friend have the potential to become the greatest champions my world has ever seen. I do this because I believe that you are worthy of becoming the last of my children. The last true dragons."**

Hiccup wasn't sure what he meant by Champion or what he meant by the last true dragons but he certainly wasn't going to argue. If this…god…would save them from a watery grave then so be it. He met Toothless' gaze questioningly. "What do ya think bud?" He asked. If it were at all possible, the Night Fury looked…excited, like he was both eager and terrified of what would happen if they were to enter this god's domain. With his eyes narrowed to thin slits, Toothless gave a single nod to his rider.

Nodding, Hiccup **met** the god's golden gaze. "Alright then, we'll go with you." Akatosh gave another warm smile before he turned and gestured at the light behind him. It slowly expanded into a gateway large enough for Toothless to fly through. Akatosh stepped through first and Hiccup glanced at Toothless, who met his gaze and snorted before shaking his head and following the divine being through the gateway.

~oOo~  
Ten Years Later, Skyrim, Northern Province of Tamriel

In the blackened sky of a cold and stormy Skyrim night, two Alpha Dov raced beneath the frozen clouds. One, a legendary dragon called a Night Fury, the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. As long as a ship, with wings almost double its length, and as tall as Whiterun's walls, its scales were the color of ebony and its eyes were like luminescent gage-green gems. Armored plates covered its massive form all the way to the tip of its tail where a prosthetic fin on its left side, made from black dragon's scales, allowed it to take flight. On the tail fin, the Sigil of Akatosh was printed in stark white with red outlines.

At the base of his neck, seated in a black leather saddle sat the other Dovah. The equally legendary warrior adopted by Akatosh and gifted with the blood and soul of a dragon. He was known throughout the land as Dovahkiin, or Dragonborn in the language of man. His daedric riding armor and black hooded cloak were a distinguished sight to most of the frozen northern kingdom of Tamriel.

Sleek ebony plate armor covered his lean body, a faint red glow emanating from between the ribs that made up the majority of the material. Large pauldrons, topped with small studs protected his shoulders and sleek black chainmail linked with more metal plates protected his muscular upper arms. A pair of emblems, shaped like red skulls with fangs, sharpened teeth, and horns garnished his pauldrons.

His hands and forearms were protected by clawed gauntlets, studs covering his knuckles and a single spike tipping each of his elbows. Bone-Hawk rings adorned his fingers, each of them enchanted to increase his stamina and magicka. A matching amulet hung around his neck, enchanted to increase his healing rate and protect him from poisons and diseases. His legs were protected by more chainmail and black plates. Black boots and greaves protected his feet and shins; a pair of small spikes topping his knee guards.

A tattered black cloak and cowl, sewn from dragon-heart scales, reached down to his knees and both shrouded him in darkness as well as protected him from the biting cold of the high Skyrim air. Along with the cloak was a black mask, styled after the dragon priest masks he had spent years collecting. It was forged from ebony metal cooled in the blood of a Daedra, with fangs carved into the surface and runes in Dovahzul written around the mouth and eyeholes. Dubbed Kendov in Dovahzul, or warrior in the language of man, it served as both a symbol of its wearers might in battle as well as protected his face and eyes from the wind while flying and fighting.

Hanging across his back beneath the cloak was a massive daedric greatsword with more than fifteen accompanying daggers and knives spread across his body. Across the saddle in front of him, attached with leather straps, was a matching daedric bow, the weapon and its wielder capable of placing a twenty-four inch arrow on the eye of a Sabercat from more than three hundred yards away. An enchanted quiver filled with more than two thousand black shafted, frostbite venom coated arrows hung from his belt on his right side.

Hiccup "Bloodfang" StormCrown, former Viking and citizen of the island of Berk breathed in the freezing air as he stood in the stirrups and finally spotted their target, the Throat of the World, the tallest mountain on the continent of Tamriel, and the first place that he and Toothless had ever seen after they had been brought to this land. Toothless spotted it as well and growled before angling his body for the frozen peak.

They reached the familiar frozen mountain in mere minutes and Toothless alighted atop a large outcropping as silent as whisper, his armor enchanted to remain silent in accompaniment with his natural skill as a master hunter. Hiccup dismounted, and scanned the area for their mentor, the leader of the Greybeards, the ancient dragon Paarthurnax. He could usually be found resting atop a damaged ancient Nord word wall near the edge of the plateau, but he was nowhere in sight. The snow and wind whipped around them, making it almost impossible for them to see even with their enhanced eyesight.

Finally growing frustrated, Hiccup drew a deep icy breath and raised his face to the sky. " **Lok... Vah, Koor!"** the shout shot from his lips and struck the clouds over the mountain. Instantly they were dispelled in all directions leaving the sky clear and crisp. The twin moons, Masser and Secunda, greeted the pair and a faint green aurora begun to twirl through the air.

Toothless snorted in approval and used his flame to warm the rock beneath him before lying down, his wings tucked to his side and his tail drooped over the edge. Hiccup scanned the now clear sky but still found no sign of the ancient white dragon.

Paarthurnax had been the first being they had met when they had arrived from their own world through Akatosh' gateway and had been a source of comfort and guidance for both young dragons. When they had traveled through the planes to reach Mundus and Nirn, Akatosh had placed his mark on Hiccup and Toothless, making the young Viking Dragonborn and bonding the two as one. Needless to say, Paarthurnax had been more than surprised when he had felt the familiar soul of a dragon emanating from the young man. But he had become accustomed soon enough, deigning to take both under his tutelage. He had ordered the Graybeards to house Hiccup in the monastery of High Hrothgar lower on the mountain and to train him to use the Voice, they were more than eager to agree once they learned of his standing as Dragonborn. Hiccup had struggled at first with the intense training and academic studies, but quickly became acclimated to the new and strange situation they had found themselves in.

While Hiccup studied and learned about Nirn from the Greybeards, Toothless had been undergoing his own training. He learned everything he could from the elder dragon about all aspects of life, including flying, fighting, surviving, and most importantly, speaking. Toothless was already fluent in Dragonese, the language that dragons spoke to one another in their birth world, but with Paarthurnax' help, he soon was versed and fluent in Dovahzul, the dragon language on Nirn. The language of mortals however, remained impossible for him, and so he simply spoke in Dovahzul, using Hiccup as his translator when he spoke to someone else. Unfortunately, as the two had grown, so had the power of their Thu'ums, until it reached the point where if Toothless spoke, his voice would shake the earth and topple buildings if he weren't careful, forcing him to remain silent except in situations of Absolute necessity.

Just as Hiccup was about to give up searching for his mentor, the powerful whoosh of displaced air and the thunderous sound of a Dovah landing caused the both of them to turn their heads sharply towards the peak of the mountain. But it wasn't Paarthurnax that they saw. Instead, a massive dragon, several times larger than Toothless, comprised of glowing golden scales and with wings that looked like they were made of pure sunlight, roosted at the very peak. Instant recognition spurred both Toothless and Hiccup to bow out of respect and reverence for the creature above them.

Akatosh, the great golden dragon looked down at his two sons. One, an alpha Night Fury and more powerful than any of his living sons, including Paarthurnax. The other, a former Viking and the last of Akatosh's true children. The man born with the flesh of a mortal, but the blood and soul of a dragon. Hiccup, the lost heir of Berk and the most interesting mortal that Akatosh had ever laid eyes on. Alessia, Martin, Tiber Septim, and Ysgramor, all of them were legends in their own right. But they all paled in comparison to this one.

This boy, whom was considered a runt by his own people and presumed to grow up worthless and alone, had changed the course of Tamriel's history and the history of Nirn as a whole. From a boy who could barely lift a sword as a child to a full-grown man with the strength and speed to wrestle a legendary dragon, he had seized hold of his destiny with both hands and steered it whatever way he chose, oftentimes surprising not just his father, but many of the other eight divines.

And he had proven his mettle time and time again, from slaying the divine dragon Alduin the World Eater to defeating Harkon the Vampire King and destroying Miraak the First Dragonborn, he was one of the greatest warriors to ever walk the face of Nirn, revered throughout the nine holds of Skyrim and the rest of Tamriel for his skills.

In just ten short years this boy had accomplished more than most mortals did in a lifetime. Becoming Harbinger of the Companions, a feat that many of his original kin would never be able to achieve, for the skill and intelligence it would take. Ascending to the position of Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold, in a land where magic was something shunned and feared by most, he had taken a quick proficiency to it, being able to use his logical and analytical mind to better understand and more easily master spells in months when they would take others years. In the magical world, he was known as Arch-Mage Zidrigal the Wise. Few outside the college knew that he was less than twenty-five years old.

His time in Skyrim had also hardened him as a man. Where once he might have been hesitant to kill, be the victim man or dragon, he now stood as one of the deadliest warriors to walk Tamriel's surface. In the Imperial Legion he was known as the Black Legionnaire, renowned for his leadership and discipline under fire. He and his dragon had brought about the downfall of Ulfric Stormcloak, the Jarl of Windhelm and leader of the Stormcloak rebellion.

He had also driven off the Aldmeri Dominion, forcing them to return to their home in the Summerset Isles, or face his wrath. The hundreds of decimated Justiciars and Thalmor soldiers a decisive enough motivator for the elves to rescind their decrees and return the worship of Talos to Skyrim.

He also had more, illegitimate accomplishments as well. Becoming Listener of the Dark Brotherhood and Master of the Thieves Guild had trained him to move like a shadow, to deliver a blade or retrieve an item. He was a master of stealth and could move through a crowded street like he was invisible.

Pride filled Akatosh as he looked upon his greatest children and he raised his head to release a powerful, awe-inspiring roar that shook the sky and the mountain with its force. Then, when it was done, he looked down upon them and spoke in Dovahzul, his powerful, echoing voice warping the air with its energy.

 **"Drem Yol Lok Dovahkiin ahrk Dovah Vulon Nah!"** Hiccup and Toothless rose at their fathers greeting and met his golden eye. Hiccup responded in Dovahzul as well. "Drem Yol Lok Bormahu Akatosh. It is good to see you once again. But I must ask, why have you come here?" Toothless shared his curiosity and Akatosh lowered his massive golden head to see his youngest sons eye-to-eye.

 **"You ask why I stand before you once again?"** He asked. Hiccup nodded. **"Krosis, unfortunately, it is no good news. But it is not my duty nor my right to deliver it."** Hiccup was befuddled by that statement until Akatosh motioned with his head to a spot behind them. When he turned he saw the absolute last thing he was expecting to see.

Standing a mere ten feet away was an Asgardian Valkyrie, garbed in carved silver armor and carrying a spear in her hand and a sword on her hip. Her long blonde hair was tied in two braids and a silver headband held the rest back from her face. Her bright blue eyes gazed at him with an intensity he wasn't accustomed to and she stepped forward to address them.

Too stunned by the presence of an immortal from his old world and pantheon Hiccup did nothing as she stepped forward and knelt on one knee. "Uhh…What's going on?" he asked with suspicion. The divine woman was beautiful to be certain, but she shouldn't have been there. She should have no reason to be in the new world where he and Toothless had made their home. After a few moments, the Valkyrie stood and spoke in a lilting voice that bespoke her position in Asgard.

"Riddari Hiccup. I have an urgent message to deliver to you and your Night Fury." She spoke urgently, her blue eyes never leaving the black eyeholes of his mask. Hiccup glanced to Toothless and saw the dragon snort before returning his gage-green eyes to the Valkyrie. "Well then, by all means, deliver your…message." Hiccup's hand slowly gripped the hilt of one of his many daggers hidden beneath the black cloak he wore.

"Riddari Hiccup, my masters have sent me here to bring you and your dragon back to Asgard to speak with them. They say that it is an urgent matter that involves your former home in the Barbaric Archipelago." Hiccup recoiled and Toothless hissed angrily at the Valkyrie, causing her to take several steps back in fear.

When the initial shock of what she had said wore off, it quickly became replaced with rage as his Dovah Sil roared to life. In a voice as cold as the mountain around them he spoke through clenched teeth. "So…after a lifetime of nothing, a lifetime of them ignoring me, suddenly they want me to come to them at their beck and call to perform some menial task for a place I would sooner burn to the ground than be forced to live in again. No. No I don't think I'll go. You can return to your masters and tell them that from now on they can forget about me." She seemed shocked, like her masters had told her that if she merely asked then he would come. She looked torn, but before she could move, Akatosh released a puff of golden fire that calmed both he and his Dovah Sil down instantly.

 **"I can understand your frustration my son. But do you not think it would be wise to, at the very least, go with her and see who these masters are and what it is they want from our world's champion?"** Hiccup sighed as he glanced up and stared up at the massive golden dragon. "Aye, you're correct, I suppose we should at least go and see what it is they want from us." He spun around and pointed one sharp fingertip at her. "But, I make no promises nor vows that I will in any way assist you or your masters once I know what they want. And I want to be clear that if I do decide to decline I will be returned to this very spot!"

When she nodded he straightened and moved next to Toothless and mounted him, then he held out his hand for her to take. The Valkyrie stepped forward carefully and took it. She was surprised when he effortlessly lifted her onto the dragon's back directly behind him. He glanced at Akatosh, who watched him in turn. "I hope I don't need to say that if they try anything funny…well lets just say that there'll be a few less gods around to piss me off!" And with that Toothless leapt into the air. Akatosh laughed heartily at his child's ire.

As they climbed higher, Hiccup glanced at the Valkyrie over his shoulder. "Whatever you need to do to get us there, do it." She nodded before crouching behind him, causing Toothless to stop and hover in place, before she extended her right arm. A faint glow began to appear and Hiccup could feel the magic moving around her hand and into the air in front of them where it began to distort and warp the air. Finally she dropped her hand and watched the spot in front of them intently. After a few moments, the distortion changed and a solid portal appeared, wide enough for Toothless to fly though with his wings fully extended.

Toothless glanced back at his rider with narrowed eyes, asking if he truly wanted to do this. Hiccup rubbed his head reassuringly. "I know. I don't wanna do this either, so let's just get this over with eh bud?" Toothless snorted before flapping his mighty wings and flying through the portal.

Akatosh watched his two sons disappear through the portal to Asgard. He snorted with the thought of what would happen should Odin and his other deities upset the Night Fury and his rider. It would be a bloodbath, but likely not one that the Asgardians would survive.


	3. Aggressive Negotiations

Odin's Hall, Asgard

When they exited the portal to Asgard, the first thing that they saw was that they were now standing in the middle of a massive throne room. The walls were made of gold and silver, the floor was marble, and the ceiling was made of pearls. Marble pillars ringed the edge of the massive room and a regal purple carpet covered most of the floor. Across from them was a golden staircase leading up to a raised dais where a large golden throne overlooked the entire room. Seated in the throne was a massive man wearing ornate ceremonial armor. A golden patch covered one of his eyes, and a massive spear was draped across his knees. Around the room, dozens of different people, some of them guards wearing golden armor and wielding spears and swords, others normal looking people wearing court robes and armor, looked on them with shock and surprise on their faces. In contrast to the vast majority of the people around them, one woman wearing a white gown, knelt before the golden staircase, her eyes locked on Hiccup as he sat in the saddle.

Every person in the room had their eyes on Hiccup and Toothless, surprised by the sudden appearance of a massive armored black dragon and a cloaked rider. The Valkyrie slid off of Toothless' back and immediately moved towards the base of the golden staircase and knelt beside the woman in the white gown.

"My lord Odin, I have returned with the Rider of the Night Fury, the heir of Berk, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. He has agreed to come and speak with you and my lady Freyja about the situation developing on Midgard."

The god seated atop the throne, Odin, rose and slowly begun to descend the staircase. When he reached the bottom, he stared directly at Hiccup and Toothless for several moments before glancing around the room at the various spectators.

 **"Leave us!"** His voice filled the hall and in mere minutes the hall was empty except for him, the woman in the white gown, the Valkyrie, Hiccup, Toothless, and the guards at the edges of the room. When they had gone, he stepped past the two women, who rose from their kneeling positions, and examined the dragon and rider before him. He turned to look at the Valkyrie and the woman behind him. When he spoke, his voice no longer filled the hall with its energy.

"You are certain this is the one? I was led to believe that he was a child, as weak as a babe and incapable of holding a weapon. This man before me looks nothing like that description." The Valkyrie dipped her head before answering.

"Yes my king. It is him. He agreed to come here at the behest of his lord Akatosh. The god claimed that he has adopted this boy and his dragon as his children." He glanced at her questioningly. "Did I hear you right? Akatosh adopted them? As his children?" she nodded fervently before Odin looked to the woman in the gown.

"Freyja, did you know this information when you told me about this boy?" The woman in the white gown nodded and stepped forward. "I knew that it was Akatosh that had taken the boy and his dragon. I was unaware that he had…adopted them, or exactly what that would entail for him and his Night Fury."

Odin nodded and Freyja stepped forward to address Hiccup. "Come down from your dragon child. I promise that we will not harm you. I assure you that if that had been our intention you would not be alive right now."

Hiccup snorted in derision but did as she asked. They hadn't been openly hostile or demanding so he was willing to play along…for now. When he was standing before them he noticed that he could meet Odin eye to eye and Freyja had to look up to stare into the black eyeholes of his mask.

Freyja stepped forward to get a closer look at him before reaching her hand up to touch his mask. To her surprise, and to the surprise of Odin and the Valkyrie, Hiccup's hand shot out from beneath his cloak and snapped closed around her wrist in a vice like grip. She recoiled with shock and attempted to pull her hand away from him. She was again surprised by her inability to pull her hand from his grip; it was like it was made of iron.

Feeling like his point had gotten across; Hiccup spoke for the first time. "I don't care if you're a god, a goddess, or one of the daedric princes…Do not touch me without my permission." He released her hand and dropped his own beneath his cloak again as Toothless gave a deep chuckle at the goddesses expense.

Odin and several of the guards had stepped forward when he had grabbed her and spoken but when he released her they relaxed. The goddess looked down at her wrist where her pale white skin was turning red and raw from where his armor had chaffed it.

"That was a strong grip young man. I will be sure to keep my distance in the future." Hiccup nodded and then Odin stepped forward, an indiscernible look on his face as he held his spear, the legendary spear Gungnir, in a less than peaceful stance.

"You have a lot of nerve to assault a goddess of Asgard like that. I should have you killed, or at least tortured, for such blatant disrespect." Hiccup met his gaze beneath the mask. "You have a lot of nerve to think that you can touch me without my express permission. If one of you tries it again I will kill you. And believe me, the last god that thought he could force his will over me ended up in a very unpleasant situation."

Both divines went wide eyed, but Odin's expression quickly became skeptical. "And how is it that a mortal human came to harm a god. I can only assume that it was an incredibly weak and insignificant god if you were truly able to kill him." Hiccup glanced back at Toothless as the black dragon growled low in his chest. "I don't rightly care what you think. Alduin was no lesser god and he certainly scared me a lot more than any of you do. Now he's dead, and his soul belongs to me."

At the mention of Alduin's name, the divines once again seemed shocked. "Alduin the World-Eater is dead?" Asked Freyja. "But that's impossible. Alduin was destined to destroy Nirn from the beginning of time. Don't you dare lie to us boy!" She grew angrier the more she spoke, thinking him a liar. With a sigh, Hiccup decided to educate the Norse goddess on Tamrielic prophecy.

"If you knew anything of my world you would know that there is a second part to the prophecy you just mentioned. Yes, Alduin was destined to destroy Nirn from the beginning of time, that is correct. Yes, the Nords who rebelled against Alduin four-thousand years ago were beaten, that much is also true. But before they died, they used the power of an Elder Scroll to send Alduin forward in time four-thousand years. There it was written that at the time of Alduin's return, the Last Dragonborn would return to do battle with him for the destiny of Nirn. A Dragonborn is the only one who could have killed Alduin."

After a few long moments, realization begun to dawn on Odin and Freyja and the goddess' jaw dropped as she eyed him up and down one more time. "YOU!? But how? How can it be possible that you are Dragonborn? How could that conniving dragon have planned something like this? To steal one of our subjects from us before he was even born?!" She slammed her fist into her open palm.

Toothless hissed angrily at the insult to his adoptive father and Hiccup decided to give them a taste of what it meant to be Dragonborn. Letting his Thu'um leak into his voice, he spoke.

 **"Insult me or my father again and my voice will be the last thing you ever hear!"** The walls around them shook violently and the divines and their guards were nearly knocked to the floor from the strength of his Voice. Toothless also decided to give them a taste of his own voice, as he released a Thu'um filled roar that knocked most of the guards to the floor and cause Odin to drop to one knee, using Gungnir to keep himself upright.

When their display was over, Hiccup turned and leapt into Toothless' saddle before looking down at them one last time. "I didn't come here to be interrogated on my past and insulted. How I became Dragonborn is none of your concern. If you truly wanted to keep me as a worshipper you would have helped me when I prayed to you ten years ago. Instead Akatosh did it for you. Now, I came to this place to hear why you wanted me to return to my former homeworld. Since you two seem so intent to avoid that subject, we'll just be on our way."

Toothless turned away from them and Hiccup began channeling his magicka, projecting it forward in the same manner that the Valkyrie had to create the portal to Asgard. Now he did the same, only faster and in the opposite direction, much to the surprise and awe of the Asgardians.

When the portal was complete, a scene of the peak of the Throat of the World could be seen on the other side and Toothless stepped forward to pass through it.

"WAIT!" Freyja dashed forward, a look of pleading on her face. Hiccup rolled his eyes and was tempted to simply ignore her, but for some unknown reason he stopped Toothless and looked down at her once again. "What?"

"My apologies Riddari, you are correct, we have been poor hosts to a visitor and a child of a fellow deity. Please, allow us to explain why we asked you here, it is imperative to the survival of your former home and people." Hiccup thought her words over for several minutes and sighed. Cutting the connection to his magicka he allowed the portal to close and slowly slipped out of the saddle and to the ground.

"Thank you Dragonborn. We-" She was cut off as Hiccup held up a hand to silence her. "Cut to the chase. My patience has worn thin as it is. Tell me why you wanted me to come here, quickly." Freyja nodded and swallowed hard.

"The reason we asked you here is because your homeland, your people, and your family are in grave danger from a threat, that if left unchecked, will destroy every living being in the Barbaric Archipelago." Hiccup growled as she spoke, causing her to trail off as she reached the end of her speech.

"Stop associating me with that place! I left that world behind ten years ago and I no longer see it as my homeland. Those people never wanted anything to do with me and the only family I need is Toothless." Both divines could hear the sadness and anger in his voice as he spoke but he continued nonetheless. "Nirn, Tamriel, the people of the empire and of Skyrim are my people now. I wouldn't change my life for the world now." He turned back to face her with a cold hard look in his eyes. For a moment, Freyja and Odin alike both thought that he would turn away again and leave without hearing the rest of what she had to say. But true to his word, Hiccup motioned for her to continue with his hand. "So what about my birthplace?" he asked frigidly.

Toothless gently nudged his rider with his head in comfort and Hiccup stroked his chin mindlessly as Freyja continued. "The dragons that were plaguing Berk while you lived there were not attacking for food as most of your former kin believed. They were being forced to against their will by the Alpha." Hiccup straightened at this news.

"What do you mean by Alpha?" he asked with suspicion. "Like Alduin?" Freyja nodded. "Yes, an ancient dragon, far larger than any you would have previously met while you lived there. He forced the smaller dragons to bring him food, which is why they attacked your islands. But he was very old, one of the oldest dragons in existence. When you left, he had been approaching the end of his life, and he died not three years after your departure. His death released the dragons from his control, which in turn allowed them to return to their own natural habits and lifestyles. For the past seven years there has been peace. But recently a new alpha, a female known as the Red Death has taken control of the dragons and incited them to once again attacking the Vikings of the Archipelago."

She gazed into the eyeholes of his mask, a look of pleading on her face. "You are the only ones capable of stopping her. If you do not, your birthplace will be destroyed and all those innocent people will die. So I implore you, return to the place you once called home. Save the people there, and destroy the Red Death."

Hiccup could feel the emotions swirling within him. He was torn. His father and the people of Berk had never done anything for him. They had scorned and hated him for being different, for not being a true Viking protégé. If not for Toothless he might still be there, living with their scorn and disgust, or maybe his father would have exiled him at some point for being a useless parasite, preying off of the village's hard work.

In Skyrim he was respected, and even feared, among his fellow citizens. He was a legate in the Imperial Legion under General Tullius with wartime command of an entire army. And as the only Dragon Rider in existence; he was an incredibly valuable asset to the Emperor's armies. He was a high-ranking, well respected member of the Companions, Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold, and leader of the Thieves Guild in Riften with influence and power throughout not just Skyrim, but all of Tamriel. He held an incredible amount of sway with the emperor, and just as much power over his and every other noble's life with his connection to the Dark Brotherhood.

But even as he thought of all the glaring differences between his current situation and the one he fled, he couldn't stop himself from thinking about the better things he had experienced on Berk. Being Gobber's apprentice sat at the forefront of his mind, the good natured blacksmith had probably been the only Viking who treated him with even the slightest bit of respect even before he had begun acing Dragon Training.

He thought of the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and how they had always been as quick to crack a joke as they were to fight one another, even if most of those jokes had been at his expense. Fishlegs had always been the tamest of his fellow teens, not overly mean but certainly no saving grace in his times of need.

This train of thought brought him to Snotlout, his despised cousin who was always ready to bully and torment him whenever he had the chance, even during Dragon Training. Likely he was next in line for the position of chief in Hiccup's absence. His fists clenched and sparks of lightning rippled up and down his arms as his anger grew. He can keep the damn throne. He thought icily.

But eventually his thoughts wandered to Astrid, the star young shield maiden of Berk. She had been one of the few bright spots during his miserable tenure on the island. Even though his feelings for her had long since died, he could still remember the warm feeling he had gotten whenever he had laid eyes on her. She was completely out of his league and still he wanted her. Back then it would have required nothing short of a miracle for her to even consider him as a potential partner.

But now he was different. Life in Skyrim was hard, many times harder than it had been back in the Archipelago and with the help of the Greybeards, Aela and the Companions, Tolfdir and the College, Brynjolf and the Guild, Nazir and the Brotherhood, as well as Paarthurnax' training, he had grown, in strength and stature as well as skill.

He could shoot on par with the best archers ever known. He could wield any weapon, from small kitchen knives to massive war hammers with incredibly lethality. He could cast spells that Elven mages would be afraid to even attempt. He could walk through a crowded street like he was invisible and either steal the clothes off of someone's back or drive a knife through the heart of a target. He was a force to be reckoned with, and with Toothless by his side he was near invincible.

He chuckled at the thought of how easy it would be to win her favor now. Anger and pride told him to leave the Berkians to their own skills to survive. They were in an entirely different world and they hadn't wanted him in the first place. But at the same time, honor and his own protective nature wouldn't let him just leave them to die like worthless animals. He ground his teeth in frustration, he was at a loss. But then he felt Toothless approach from behind and bump his shoulder with his snout. Hiccup turned and nuzzled his friend's cheek with his own before staring into the dragon's green-gage eyes. "I don't know what to do Toothless. The last thing I want to do is help those people. But I can't just sit by when we could have done something to change it. What do you think we should do?"

The Night Fury snorted before answering in Dovahzul, his deep voice and the powerful language he spoke caused the entire throne room to shake, but the situation was worthy of evoking his speech.

 _ **"I think you should follow your heart. It has yet to lead you astray. Whatever path you choose to take, I will follow with fire in my belly and my teeth ready for battle."**_ Hiccup smiled beneath his mask and nodded to his friend. "Thanks bud." He said as he came to a decision. Turning back to Odin and Freyja he addressed the goddess.

"I don't particularly like the thought of going back there. In fact it makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. But you're right. I can't in good conscious leave all those people to just die. I'll go. I'll do what I have to do to stop the Red Death, no more, no less. And then I want to return to Skyrim, to my home."

Freyja's face lit up with happiness at his acceptance and she nodded eagerly. Even Odin seemed pleased with the Rider's decision. He stepped forward and spoke, his voice once again filling the hall with power. **"Prepare yourselves, for the journey ahead will be difficult."**


	4. If you want peace

It had been nearly a month since Hiccup and Toothless had arrived back in the Barbaric Archipelago. A month spent reconnoitering, tracking, hunting, and spying. Odin and Freyja had teleported them onto a small uninhabited island a few leagues from Bog-Burglar island, something that both irritated and pleased him. Hiccup had easily spied on them up close, using his skills as a thief and an assassin to sometimes get within just a few feet of some chatting Vikings. He would eavesdrop on their conversations an

From the gossip and the bedraggled state of the Bog-Burglar's island, as well as the other islands and tribes he visited afterwards, he could tell that the situation was truly dire. The dragons had practically picked the archipelago dry in just a few months and most of the tribes had been forced to take refuge in caves and sea stacks to avoid the dragon's scavenging. If the Red Death wasn't defeated soon, the dragons under her control would begin killing and taking Vikings corpses to feed her.

Now Berk, as the largest of the tribal islands, was beginning to be the favored target of the dragon hordes as the other tribes had less and less to give. And it was because of this that he had been forced to land on said island against his desires. Circling the island it looked almost exactly the way he had left it, except for the newly rebuilt houses and the plethora of armaments that were strung around the fields and the docks.

Massive torches for lighting up the sky at night, ballistae and catapults, net and bola launchers. Lookouts wandered along the walkways and watch towers with torches, watching for any sign of an impending attack. Even so, Toothless' ebony scales and armor ensured that the only way for him to be seen was to spot his silhouette against the stars, no easy task for sure.

It was just before midnight when Toothless and Hiccup landed in the old cove where they had first become friends. He chuckled as he noticed that the Night Fury, which had ten years previously had ample room to move about within the confines of the area, now took up a goodly portion of the available space.

Hiccup grabbed his personal rucksack and bow from the saddle before leaping off his dragon's neck, landing in a low crouch. Quickly he went between Toothless' legs and began undoing the rigging that held a slim metal chest to his belly. When the weight of the object fell to Hiccup, he carried it out from beneath his dragon and Toothless gratefully sunk to his belly, glad to be free of the awkward shape and unaccustomed weight. He fell asleep almost immediately.

Meanwhile, Hiccup wandered over to the massive oak tree at the far end of the cove, the base of which was hollowed out into a sizable living space, and he placed the chest at the back end of it. Using a key he pulled from within his armor he opened it, to reveal everything he could possibly need for this quest.

Ingots and materials for smithing, tools to build and craft with, soul gems, both full and empty, for enchanting and thousands of septims worth of gold and gems. Money would not be a problem for him while he was here, something he had made sure of before his return. Then he wandered about, gathering together sticks and twigs to make a fire. His meals for the past month had mostly consisted of barely cooked fish and dried meats. He would enjoy the opportunity to eat some well-cooked boar or venison.

When he had enough wood, he piled it together and built a ring of rocks around it before lighting the wood with a simple flames spell. "Hard to believe how much has changed in just ten years." He said quietly. Toothless' ear flaps twitched at his rider's voice but the Night Fury remained asleep. Finally, at just half past one, he grabbed his bedroll from Toothless' saddlebags and laid down beside his dragon for some much needed sleep. The dragons would return soon, maybe later that night or the next, but by then they would be ready to follow them back to the nest and see just exactly what the Red Death was.

~oOo~

Astrid awoke far later than she had previously planned. It was already well into the afternoon when she finally rolled out of bed. Cursing, she rose and changed into clean clothes before making her way downstairs. She was about to go out and see what kind of help she could offer but the sound of her stomach rumbling loudly caused her to pause. She realized that her last meal would have been almost a full day earlier and she wouldn't be much help if she didn't get some food soon. And so, grabbing her axe, she made her way out the door, through the village, and to the Great Hall.

When she entered she saw the War Council deep in session, likely revolving around what to do about the dragons. Silently, she made her way over to the long table where food and drink were laid out for the people to eat. Grabbing a few pieces of fish and a mug of mead she wandered away from the council to a secluded section of the hall.

However, the heated voices of the council members carried through the hall and she couldn't help hearing what it was they were talking about while she ate.

"-need to try and find the nest again. If we can destroy it, then they'll have to leave and find another home, away from us! It's a miracle that they haven't found where our ships are hidden and destroyed them. If that happens we'll be doomed! They'll pick us dry like they've picked apart every other tribe!" Stoic's thunderous bass reached her ears clearly.

"I have to agree with the chief. We can't just sit on our hands and wait for them to leave again. We don't know what it was that made them go in the first place and we can't rely on uncertain variables when it comes to our survival." The voice of Spitelout was emphasized by the sound of a knife being imbedded into the wooden roundtable.

"Now ya need ta' calm down! The lot of ya! If we jus' wait fer the dragons ta leave again they'll be gone before ya know it." Gobber's voice joined the cacophony of others filling the hall.

"We can't Gobber! I know you only need to look after yourself and your sheep but I have two children to look after. I don't want them to be hurt because we all sat on our backsides and did nothing when we could have done something, anything!"

"I agree with Jon, we can't sit around and hope that the dragons will leave again. Winter is only a few months away and if we don't have enough food stored up… Berk will die…"

Astrid heard Stoic sigh and glanced over, the chief looked utterly exhausted but he was clearly doing his best to stand strong for his tribe. "Alright," he said. "Once the repairs are done and the defenses have been rebuilt we'll organize another raid. If we can catch a dragon it can lead us directly-"

The doors of the Great Hall burst open and one of the lookouts ran in. "Chief! Outcasts!" He shouted as he reached the council table and caused Astrid and every other Viking sitting down to jump from their seats and grab their weapons.

A myriad of emotions ran across the chief's face, worry, fear, resignation, and despondency. For the first time in Astrid's life she saw her invincible chief look utterly defeated for the briefest of moments as the rest of the Vikings in the hall and those that had followed the lookout in gathered around the table. She joined her friends, who were all out of breath from chasing the runner, near the front of the crowd.

"When did you see them Lod?" Stoic asked the exhausted Viking.

"Just a few minutes ago chief, a whole fleet of them, just on the horizon." Answered Lod. "I reckon they'll be here before midnight. They were in their warships." The crowd was filled with panicked and fear stricken voices.

"Likely they think that we're weak from the dragon attacks, and that our fleet has been destroyed as well. They would never attempt something like this normally." Stoic mused as he looked at a map of Berk and the surrounding islands.

"What should we do Stoic?" asked Spitelout. "We might be able to take 'em by surprise if we use the ships. They won't be expecting a sea attack." Several of the crowd agreed but Stoic waved them off.

"No! We'll need the ships for the raid. We'll set up barricades starting at the docks and corral them in the village square. We'll block off the side streets and defend from there. Children, elderly, and other non-combatants will take cover here in the Great Hall. The more we slow them down, the easier it'll be to stop them." He turned and looked at Lod. "Lod, I want you and the twins on watch. Send regular reports on their range and position, if anything changes, I want to know about it. The rest of you, prepare yourselves."

Astrid and the rest of the Vikings left the hall in a rush, Lod, Ruffnut and Tuffnut taking off quickly for the lookout tower near the docks. Astrid sighed again, brushing her bangs out of her face as she made her way with Fishlegs and Snotlout.

When they arrived, everyone set about constructing and reinforcing barricades all the way from the docks to the center of the village. Snotlout and Fishlegs went with a group of men to collect lumber from the forest and Astrid was put in charge of helping Gobber in the forge, sharpening weapons. "Another restless night." She whispered to herself as she removed her fur hood and bracers to keep cool in the heat of the forge. She couldn't help thinking that if Hiccup were still around it would be him sharpening and repairing weapons with Gobber while she helped build barricades or gathered lumber.

~oOo~

Early in the evening, just as the sun was disappearing over the horizon, the Outcasts arrived. The twins ran together from the watchtower to the Great Hall. They entered immediately and ran directly to where Stoic and the War Council were discussing tactics.

"Chief! They're here!" they shouted in unison. Stoic nodded in recognition. "Understood. Make your way to the docks and spread the word quietly; we don't need the Outcasts to hear us makin' a fuss." The twins nodded before sprinting, once again, from the hall and down to the docks. But instead of heading for the tower, they made their way to the barricades, where the rest of the village warriors were huddled, awaiting the word that the fight was about to begin.

Meanwhile, Stoic and the others armed themselves and made their way down to the docks at a slow jog. When they arrived, the others had been warned and were eagerly waiting to lay into the invaders. Stoic spotted Astrid and the other teens making their way to the front of the line and he approached quickly, another job in mind for them.

"Astrid!" he called quietly. The young Hofferson nearly jumped at his voice before coming over to meet him. "Yes chief?" she asked calmly. He motioned for the other teens to join them before addressing the group.

"Listen, I want you five to go back to the Great Hall and wait there." He said. Instantly a chorus of protests rose up but it was Astrid who spoke the clearest.

"Chief we're not kids. We don't hide from a fight, no matter what. You need every warrior you can get and we're some of the best." The other teens nodded earnestly in agreement. Stoic raised a hand to silence them.

"I know, but I need you to do this for me. If the Outcasts get past us, there's no telling what they'll do to the villagers hiding inside. I want you five to protect the Great Hall with your lives. If even a single Outcast gets past us, it'll be your job to stop them."

As the weight of their new job took hold, a look of grim determination set on their faces. "We won't let you down chief." Said Astrid before she turned and sprinted for the Great Hall, quickly followed by the others.

With the knowledge that the Great Hall would be safe for the time being, Stoic turned back to await the start of the battle.


	5. Prepare for War!

Hiccup came awake to the sound of clashing swords, shouting men and women, and explosions coming from the nearby village. Jumping to his feet he quickly donned his weapons and armor before running from the hollow of the tree. Toothless was already awake and eager to see what was happening and he excitedly spread his massive wings in preparation for takeoff. Hiccup donned his hood and pulled his mask up over his face as he ran and leapt into the saddle.

With a snort, Toothless shot straight up into the air like an arrow fired from a bow, quickly rising above the trees before leveling out a few hundred feet above the ground. From there, they circled the island until they were right above the village. What they saw caused both of them to go wide-eyed.

"Outcasts!?" asked Hiccup with disbelief. "What in the name of Oblivion are they doing here?" Toothless hissed and shook his head revealing that he didn't know either. They circled the village twice more; watching as the Outcasts slowly broke through barrier after barrier, each time engaging more and more Berkians. When they finally broke through the last one, they poured into the village square where every road was blocked off. More Berkians joined the fray as they emerged from houses and shops to battle the invaders. Hiccup spotted several familiar faces among the fighting. His father was engaged with three Outcasts at once, his size and strength clearly unchanged from ten years previous as he wielded his stone hammer. Gobber was by his side, handling his own fair share of Outcasts, his axe prosthetic covered in blood and gore.

The Berkians seemed to be holding their own, but a small contingent of Outcasts managed to slip through and head for the Great Hall where Hiccup knew children, the elderly, the sick, and other non-combatants would be taking shelter. He angled Toothless towards the mountain above the hall and the massive Night Fury landed silently on a large ledge overlooking the entire village. Hiccup dismounted and ran to the ledge where he knelt on one knee to see what was happening.

Outside the Great Hall he spotted five very familiar people, most of them dredging up memories of anger and loneliness. Fishlegs was easy to spot in the darkness and firelight. If he had been large as a boy, he was utterly immense as a man, his stone hammer ready for use in his hand. Snotlout hadn't changed much physically, he was still short and stout, but he now wore a thick black fur on his shoulders, similar to the Chief's Fur that Stoic wore. Hiccup felt his hackles rise in anger at the sight. Likely he was next in line for the throne since Hiccup's disappearance. He carried a spiked mace in preparation for battle.

The twins were still thin and lanky, but they had grown in height and appearances since he had left, growing into their respective genders. The most noticeable feature was that Tuffnut now wore his hair in a set of thick dreadlocks. They both carried spears and nets with them.

And at the top of the stairs, standing with her axe in hand was Astrid. She had changed the most out of any of his old group of "friends." Her blue shirt was replaced with a red one, and her hair was now braided down the side but was still held back with a leather headband. Her skirt looked the same, with columns of spikes and skulls lining her belt. She had dark leggings on underneath and thick furry boots. She also had fur bracers on her arms and a large fur hood hanging from her shoulders. She and the others stood ready to defend the Great Hall from the enemy. All while fireballs still rained down over the village from the catapults on the docks.

When the Outcasts reached the Great Hall, the five Vikings rushed forward to meet them, and held their own for several moments. But it quickly became obvious that the superior numbers of the Outcasts were going to overwhelm the five young Vikings sooner rather than later.

Hiccup came to a decision then and there. The warriors and his old Dragon Training mates be damned, if the Outcasts broke into the Great Hall they would rape and murder everyone they found there. That was not going to happen on his watch. He ran back and grabbed his bow from the saddle and gently patted Toothless' head before reaching down and flipping the lever that would give full control to the dragon. "You take out those catapults and the ships, I'll handle the attackers." Toothless, his pupils narrowed to thin slits, huffed and snorted before taking to the air in a rush of wind.

While Toothless prepared to eliminate the artillery, Hiccup drew his bow and three arrows from his quiver. Nocking one, he zeroed in on a burly Outcast that was battling against the Twins. The larger invader was quickly pushing the smaller twins back, his war-axes being able to deliver far more punishing blows than their spears and nets. Drawing back on the heavy chord, he aimed, released a half breath, and released. A split second later the heavy arrow flew between the two twins and buried itself up to the fletching in the man's chest, tearing through his leather armor like it wasn't even there. The Twins seemed shocked but quickly moved on to other attackers.

Nocking his second arrow Hiccup targeted a spear wielding Outcast attacking Snotlout. He was tempted to leave the arrogant Viking to his own survival but it was obvious he was going to lose and that would mean one less Viking guarding the Great Hall. And so he drew, aimed, breathed, and fired. Once again, the 250 pound draw weight of the bow sent the arrow whizzing directly into the Outcasts temple, splitting his horned helmet like parchment and shattering his skull. The unexpected intervention caused Snotlout to scream from surprise.

Without even looking to see if his last shot had hit, Hiccup nocked his third arrow and aimed in on another Outcast in full plate armor wielding a sword and shield. The ugly brute was trying his hardest to land a blow on Fishlegs, the bulky Berkian struggling to avoid the lightning quick slashes and stabs of the smaller and faster weapon. Drawing and aiming, Hiccup released a half breath and fired, sending the ebony arrow straight through the Outcast's raised shield and into his chest, killing him instantly.

In less than a minute, Hiccup had changed the course of the battle, and not a moment too soon as a moment later a piercing shriek filled the air and drew every ounce of attention on the battlefield. A flash of purple-blue fire appeared from the docks accompanied by a massive explosion and the sounds of dying men. After a few seconds the battle resumed.

Hiccup glanced down as a war cry split the air and spotted Astrid fending off three attackers directly below him on the stairs in front of the Great Hall doors. At first it looked like she might hold them off, but even the best warriors can succumb to superior numbers and as all three Outcasts attacked she was struck on the forearm by an axe which caused her to drop her own weapon. She fell down and quickly crawled backwards up the stairs, cursing them as she did until she found herself pressed against the doors of the Great Hall.

Hiccup's trained ears picked up the sound of the men talking about what they were going to do to her and he ground his teeth in anger. "Not if I can help it!" he hissed as he slung the bow across his back and drew his greatsword.

Waiting until the three attackers were directly below him, he pounced, leaping straight down to drive the blade into the neck of the middle-most attacker. Faster than the other two could react; he ripped it from the man's flesh and performed a wide sweeping arc that cut the right-side attacker in half at the waist.

The remaining attacker managed to raise his axe but Hiccup proved too fast as he brought his blade up and drove it into the invaders stomach. The man looked down at the intruding weapon with a look of surprise, then at Hiccup before he finally went limp and crumpled to the ground. Flicking his blade clean of blood, Hiccup turned and looked into the terrified eyes of the girl he had once loved.

~oOo~

Astrid and her fellow Vikings charged forward to meet the attacking Outcasts. Though they were outnumbered, they managed to hold them off for several minutes but soon it became obvious that they were losing ground. She lost sight of her friends in the fray, once she heard Snotlout shout with surprise but couldn't turn to see what had happened. A heartbeat later she heard the sound of a shattering shield and crunching armor from her left.

But a moment later everything seemed to freeze when an ear-splitting shriek filled the air. The heart-stopping sound filled the air, growing louder and louder with each second. It drew every single Viking's attention before a bright flash of purple and an explosion came from the direction of the docks followed by the sound of dying men. That sound belonged to one thing and one thing only. The Night Fury, it was back after all these years.

She didn't have a moment more to think about it as three Outcasts rushed towards her and attacked with axes and swords. She managed to fend them off for a moment but was constantly on the defensive as she backed away from them. With a war-cry, she blocked another sword swing and attacked, swinging her axe in wild arcs to drive them back and gain some breathing room. It worked for a few seconds before they once again pressed the attack, this time working in tandem to overwhelm her defenses.

Astrid screamed as one of their axes struck her forearm, cutting through the muscle there and shattering the bone beneath. She dropped her axe and fell to the ground. Without thinking, she crawled backwards up the stairs as she spat curses at them through clenched teeth.

Her heart nearly stopped when she felt her back press against the cold wood of the doors to the Great Hall. She was trapped, and the three men were walking towards her slowly, leering at her and speaking about terrible things they were going to do to her. With her uninjured hand she drew the knife she kept hidden in her boot and held it up. But it was a pathetic weapon in the face of their axes and swords. She was practically defenseless and unable to escape.

She felt tears stinging her eyes as cold terror filled her heart at the prospect of being raped as the Night Fury continued to bombard the enemy ships. But just as the three were about to reach her a shadowy figure fell from the sky and landed in front of her, directly on top of the middle invader.

He, and it was obviously a he by the size and stature of the person, was garbed in black-ribbed-plate armor with a hood over his head. A large black bow was slung across his back and a quiver of arrows hung from his spiked belt. He had clawed gauntlets covering his hands and a red fanged skull, with sharp teeth and horns, was emblazoned on both of his shoulder pauldrons. His weapon, what looked like a jagged greatsword, was buried deep in the neck of the attacker he had landed on.

Faster than she had ever seen anybody move, he withdrew his blade from the corpse beneath his feet and swung the massive weapon at the man to his right, bisecting him widthwise at the waist.

The third and final attacker managed to raise his axe over his head, but once again her mysterious savior moved faster than she thought possible and impaled the man through the gut with a sickening squelching sound. After a few moments, the man collapsed to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Yanking his blade from the corpse, the man flicked it clean of blood and turned to look at her. She gasped as he realized that he was wearing a hideous black mask with fangs and strange runes carved into the surface. She couldn't see anything of his eyes except the black eyeholes of the mask.

Astrid was about to ask him who he was but before she could he sheathed his greatsword across his back and with swift movements walked towards her, completely ignoring the knife she held in her uninjured hand, and promptly scooped her up into his arms before he kicked open the doors of the Great Hall. She found her voice finally and shouted with surprise as he carried her to one of the tables near the door and placed her on top of it.

"Hold still." He said with a smooth tenor, the hint of a growl working in the background. She was about to protest his actions when he took hold of her broken and bloody arm in both of his hands. She hissed with pain as he moved it, and his hold became fractionally more gentle before what looked like a warm golden light appeared around his right hand.

 _Magic!?_ Astrid was awed as he gently pressed his hand to her wound and she felt the bone snap into place painlessly. She continued to watch as the blood coating the wound was slowly drawn back into the gash and then even that begun to close until there was no sign that she had ever been struck. He released her hands and she tenderly flexed the muscle to feel no pain whatsoever.

She was about to ask him if it had, indeed, been magic when a raging Outcast warrior burst through the now open doors of the Great Hall. Faster than she could blink the masked man spun and thrust his hand out, sending what Astrid could only describe as a bolt of purple lightning into the man's chest. _Definitely magic!_ The powerful…spell…quickly reduced the attacker to little more than a pile of ash and the black armored man silently turned and stalked towards and out the doors, drawing his greatsword as he went.

Astrid quickly rose and followed him out the doors, only to see the bodies of dead Outcast littering the ground from the door to the village. She spotted her axe lying where she had dropped it and immediately grabbed it before taking off down the stairs towards the village, shutting the doors of the Great Hall once again behind her.

More and more bodies, a vast majority of them from the Outcast side lined the path, most of them with very deep wounds, most likely from the mysterious man's strange weapon. It didn't seem to matter whether or not they wore armor or carried a shield; the sword had cleaved through them like a hot knife through butter. She also noticed that the Night Fury was no longing attacking the docks and assumed that it had either left or was waiting somewhere in the darkness, but it didn't seem to be targeting her village, so she tried not to think about it.

The sounds of battle increased the closer she got to the center of the village until finally she arrived at the town square. What shocked her however was that most of her fellow villagers were standing back, closer to the outskirts of the battleground, and they were watching something in the center with wide eyes and open mouths. Forcing her way to the front of the crowd she spotted Stoic and Gobber standing nearby and made her way over to them before finally looking to see what had everyone's attention.

It was the black armored man, wielding his wicked greatsword and dueling what must have been the remainder of the Outcasts in the square, nearly thirty of the dirty, mangy Vikings. Among them was Alvin the Treacherous, the leader of the Outcast tribe and a nuisance to her people since long before she was born.

It should have been a very one sided fight with the Outcast's superior numbers making short work of the armored man, but he never seemed to struggle or hesitate as he slew warrior after warrior. He moved like a whirlwind, swinging his blade with a speed, precision, and strength she didn't know was humanly possible until only he and Alvin remained.

The leader of the invading tribe was relatively unharmed, having remained towards the rear of the fighting as his men attacked. His broadsword was covered in blood however, the blood of her people. She was about to step in and take him on when Gobber's hand appeared on her shoulder. She looked up to the blacksmith and saw him shake his head. "Don't." He said before looking back towards the two in the center. She also turned to watch what was happening.

Alvin bellowed with rage and brandished his blade. "WHO IN ODIN'S NAME DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" He shouted in his thunderous voice. The armored man merely twirled his sword in response as he stared down the massive Viking before him. "Won't talk eh? Well then you'll die in SILENCE!" Alvin raised his broadsword and charged, prepared to cleave the armored man in half from head to toe.

With the same inhuman speed that he had used to eliminate the Viking in the Great Hall the armored man stepped to the side to avoid the massive iron blade.

Alvin went charging past and spun around to repeat the attack. Once again the armored man avoided the blade by mere inches as he stepped to the side to avoid Alvin's enraged attack. This time however, Alvin didn't repeat the move; instead he stopped and glared at the mysterious warrior.

"You're the one in control of that damned dragon aren't you?" he asked. The news wasn't very surprising to Astrid. The man seemed like the kind of person who could control a dragon, even a Night Fury. "Hmm, you don't look like a Hooligan. So who in Hel's name are you?"

The armored man merely shrugged before answering in that same smooth tenor as before. "I am no-one to you. Only know that I'll be the last thing you see before you die." Alvin laughed uproariously before brandishing his sword once again. "THEN BY ALL MEANS RIDER! COME AND GET SOME!" He charged once again, shouting a war-cry the whole time as he put as much weight and strength behind the attack as he could.

Astrid expected the armored man to dodge once again, but to her surprise, and the surprise of everyone else watching, he raised his right hand and caught Alvin's blade between his thumb and forefinger, the heavy sword blade not so much as scratching the surface of the man's gauntlets. The look on Alvin's face showed that he was equally, if not more surprised that the man had blocked his attack than the rest of the Viking's watching.

With a simple "Humph", the man twisted his wrist, shattering the blade and causing Alvin to drop to his knees from shock. The Viking chief whispered something to the man and the man responded in a low voice with something that she couldn't hear. Whatever he said caused Alvin to go wide-eyed before the mysterious man raised his blade and brought it down in a thunderous slash that cleaved Alvin from shoulder to hip. With one final groan of pain the chief of the Outcasts fell over, dead.

Silence reigned over the village as they watched the man clean his sword of gore before sheathing it across his back and turning his face to the sky. He held his right hand palm up in front of him and a few seconds later what looked like a small white flame appeared hovering over it. The man quickly raised the small ball of fire over his head and it shot into the sky like a beam of light. Most of the villagers gasped at the display of supernatural power but were silenced by the thunderous cry of a nearby dragon and the beating of approaching wings. This spurred Stoic into action as he stepped forward and addressed the mysterious figure.

"Who are you?! Why did you attack our enemies?!" His thunderous voice echoed through the air as the man met his gaze easily. She didn't expect him to answer the Chief's question but he did, just as the sound of powerful wing beats filled the air above the village. A number of the tribe ducked or raised their weapons.

"Zu'u Los Dovahkiin." He spoke in a strange language that seemed to vibrate the air with its power. The wingbeats were drawing closer and Astrid looked up just in time to see a truly titanic black dragon swoop down and grab the mysterious man in its claws. She and the Chief both darted forward but it was too late, the figure and his Night Fury had disappeared into the inky blackness of the night..

~oOo~

Hiccup breathed in the ice cold air of the high altitudes, the chilling breath calming his ragged nerves and his enraged Dovah Sil. Toothless, feeling his rider's distress chuffed and glanced back with one eye, his pupils dilated to the extreme. Hiccup gently patted his comrade's head.

"I'm fine bud." He breathed a ragged breath that brought a small amount of orange flame with it, causing Toothless to go wide-eyed. Hiccup clenched his fists as he wrestled his dragon soul into submission once again. This time when he breathed, all it brought was warm steam.

Toothless chuffed again and Hiccup reached up and lowered his mask to smile at his friend. "Yeah, yeah I know. I overdid it a bit-" Toothless slapped him with his ear flap. "Okay, a lot. But what else was I supposed to do? Leave those people to die? Those Outcasts would have raped and murdered everyone and then set the entire island on fire!" Hiccup threw his arms around angrily as he thought about what could have happened. Together, they headed for the cove, Hiccup quickly becoming lost in thought as he mulled over the battle.

He was brought from his reverie however by Toothless banking over the far side of the island and slowly descending into the cove, his immense bulk taking up more than a quarter of the exposed dry land. Hiccup slipped from the saddle and landed on the ground with a groan. He rose and walked slowly towards the hollow of the tree where his bedroll was left still open from when he had woken up earlier. Only taking the time to remove his sword and other weapons, he fell into the warm furs still wearing his daedric armor. Sleep overcame him almost instantly.


	6. Rest, Recovery, and Robbery

The next morning he was awakened by the sound of Toothless dropping the bodies of two dead animals into the cove from the rim of the wall. Since he was unable to fly do to the chances of being spotted and hunted, he was forced to use his superior speed to hunt on the ground like a massive Sabercat. Coming to his feet quickly, Hiccup found himself on the ground beside his bedroll, still in his armor, and smelling of smoke and blood. He looked outside the tree hollow to see Toothless idly crunching on a dead boar with another one held possessively in his forepaws. The Night Fury spotted his rider and gave a snort and a head shake in greeting.

"Morning bud." Said Hiccup with a tired smile as he stretched and slowly went about the task of removing his gore covered armor. When he was left in nothing but his black undershirt and pants, he caught a whiff of his own scent and winced. "Ugh! I guess it's time for a bath."

He left the hollow carrying his spare clothes and a pair of his daedric daggers with him. Toothless raised his head inquisitively from his meal. "Just going for a quick bath bud. I smell like a dead mammoth." Toothless brought his head closer to his rider and sniffed him. The look of revulsion on his scaly face caused Hiccup to burst out laughing at his agony.

Still chuckling at his partner's disgusted expression, Hiccup made his way up out of the cove and further inland. After a short search, he found a quiet creek, deep enough for him to bathe in and far enough from Berk that he wouldn't be discovered easily. He stripped down, strapped one of the knives to his leg, and placed his clean clothes on a nearby rock with the second knife before diving headfirst into the cool clean water. He came up after a few moments and went about the task of cleaning himself of all the blood, sweat, and dirt that had accumulated on his skin from the night before. Images of the battle, of his former clansmen, and of Astrid flashed through his mind like bolts of lightning.

Not wanting to dwell on what had happened and what he had felt during the battle, he drew in the deepest breath he could and dove to the bottom of the creek where he sat cross-legged on a smooth rock for several minutes. The exercise was one designed by Aela to train him to remain calm under duress. It forced him to calm his mind and to slow his heartbeat to the point where it was beating barely enough for him to stay alive. His mind and body had to be in perfect synch to preserve his life force and keep him alive. It also helped increase his lung capacity, a welcome side effect when he needed to maintain shouts for longer durations. The first time he had attempted the task eight years earlier he had lost consciousness at the bottom of Lake Illinalta and almost drowned. Had the Huntress not been watching him closely on their pilgrimage he probably would have died. Needless to say she had scolded him thoroughly on not being more vigilant and aware of his limits.

When Hiccup finally emerged from the water he drew in a deep breath and swam to the shore where he could stand waist deep in the water. With a quick Frostbite spell, he created a thin sheet of ice to act as a mirror, drew the knife from his leg, and begun to shave. The stubble he had acquired from a month of travel had begun to irritate his skin beneath his mask.

He finished shaving in just a couple minutes and was just about to get out and dress when the sound of a snapping twig from behind him sent his body into full alert mode. In less than a heartbeat he had cast a Bound Bow spell and spun in the water, an arcane arrow already nocked and drawn on the conjured bow.

He saw no-one, but he wasn't about to let his guard down. He scanned the forest around the creek as well as up and down stream but saw nothing. The sound of a snapping twig further into the forest caught his ear and he slowly relaxed. Maybe an animal that had gotten a little too close? Releasing the arrow, he tucked it back into its quiver and released the bow, watching as it hovered over the water for a moment before disappearing.

He sighed as he emerged from the creek and dressed in his clean black undershirt and pants. Donning his boots, he glanced around and realized that his second dagger was nowhere to be found. Someone had definitely been here. They had gotten close enough to take his blade. Cursing, he leapt over some rocks to the other side of the creek and sprinted through the forest back to the Cove. Toothless greeted him with a snort before going back to sleep. Hiccup wandered back to the hallow tree and looked around. Nothing was missing, and surely if the person who had taken his dagger had known where his camp was they would have beaten him to it. A thief would have had a field day if they had managed to break into the chest he had brought... and if they managed to get past Toothless of course.

~oOo~

The day after the attack, Astrid awoke sore, dirty, and smelling like a sweaty yak. She had spent hours after the battle helping to gather up the villages dead, which was surprisingly few, and the wounded. The Outcast dead were piled onto one of their more intact ships that was still moored at the docks before it was released and set on fire. Alvin's body was burned on a pyre, Stoic showing a remarkable sense of honor in his treatment of the opposing Chief's corpse. When that had been accomplished, she had assisted in putting out fires and constructing temporary repairs to homes that had been damaged by the attack. She rose and decided that she needed to clean the grime and sweat from her body, the combined accumulation of a dragon attack and an Outcast invasion being too much for her to bear.

And so, she grabbed some clean clothes and her axe and set off from the village for her favorite bathing spot on the island, a creek on the eastern side of the island that was fed from the mountain and drained into the sea. Few people ventured that far from the village and the creek was surrounded by trees that would give her some privacy from prying eyes. It was also far enough that she wasn't likely to be disturbed by anyone else seeking to take a bath, but still close enough that she could reach the village quickly if something happened.

She reached the creek without incident and saw that there was nothing around, neither animals nor people to disturb her. Smiling at the prospect of being clean once again she walked down the small embankment. But before she could move towards the water's edge, something emerged from the depths with a splash, causing her to gasp and duck for cover behind a large oak tree. Waiting a moment to make sure that she hadn't been discovered, she crept around the edge of the trunk to get a closer look. _Oh My Gods!_ It was him, the man from the last night, the rider of the Night Fury …and he was stunning!

With his armor on he was an enigma, shrouded in darkness and carrying himself like an invincible king. But now, she could see every rippling muscle and dimple on his back and shoulders. He was standing waist deep in the water; shaving with a knife while looking into a mirror made of pure ice. _More magic most likely_. She flushed at the thought of him naked but shook her head to clear it before she could think about it further. With a quick breath, she went back to examining him.

He wasn't built like a normal Viking, that much was obvious. Instead of being built like a rock with arms and a torso shaped like a hundred year old oak tree, he had thickly corded muscles built over a lean frame. His looked like he could run circles around even the fastest Viking, i.e., her. But she knew that looks could be deceiving and he was far stronger than he appeared. He had taken a head on attack from Alvin the Treacherous with one arm and not buckled, even going so far as to snap the Outcast Chief's blade with only two fingers.

She couldn't see his face from where she was but she did her best to inspect every aspect of him that she could. He had shaggy mid-length brown hair that was tied into braids at the bottom. Tattoos ran across his back and shoulders, the most prominent one being of a large black dragon with its wings spread from shoulder blade to shoulder blade. Its head was nestled between his shoulder blades and the tail ran all the way down to his buttocks. It was of a species that she didn't recognize. Was that his Night Fury?

Another one covered his left shoulder in the shape of a dark bird beneath a black circle, the wings of which were spread out to either side with the tips wrapped around to the top of the circle. More tattoos covered his forearms, strange black runes, in a language that looked like it was written with claws, wrapped around his wrists and onto the backs of his hands. She also noticed more runes across his right shoulder.

Glancing towards the water's edge she saw that he had left a set of clean clothes, a pair of black armored boots, and another dagger that matched the one in his hand at the edge of the water. Without fully realizing what she was doing, Astrid found herself creeping towards the water's edge, not even breathing for fear of being caught by this strange warrior.

On a whim, she reached down and snatched the dagger from where it lay before sneaking back up the rise and into the forest. As she snuck away, a twig beneath her foot snapped. She froze and could hear him spinning around in the water behind her. She didn't move for several moments before she took off at a full sprint, quickly gaining ground from the creek and him. Another twig broke beneath her foot but she didn't care. The dagger she had stolen might allow her to figure out who he was and where he had come from. Bathing would have to wait until later, right now, she had to find Gobber.


	7. Within the Lion's Den

Three days passed without any sign of either the dragons or another Outcast attack, although likely the latter wouldn't make another attempt following the failure of the first and the death of their chief. Hiccup spent most of his time cleaning his weapons and armor, observing the village and studying their defenses, or meditating on words of power. The dragons would be back within the week and it was then that Hiccup planned to reveal himself and his purpose to the villagers. His only hope was that his appearance would have changed enough that none of them would recognize him.

Toothless for his part was content to perform his own meditations and to sleep. He couldn't fly except at night for fear of being seen and attacked, and he was too large to wander through the forests without attracting unwanted attention. He could hunt in the forest at night, but it was still risky. Better that he remain in the cove where the chance of being discovered was very minimal. Thankfully he didn't need to eat often, just once or twice a week. Another difference between him and his Earthly brethren.

On the night of the third day, Hiccup was idly playing with a Magelight spell when he heard the first sounds of an attack. The fluttering of wings, the squawking of Nadders and the roaring of Gronckles and Nightmares accompanied by shouting Vikings and smashing wood. Toothless heard them as well and was on his feet in an instant. The sun had set an hour earlier and it would only take them a few minutes to reach the village from the cove.

Donning his armor quickly, Hiccup checked himself to make sure that he was armed and ready and then ran and leapt onto Toothless back. The Night Fury leapt into the air just as Hiccup set his feet in the stirrups and together the two climbed into the darkened night sky. When the village came into sight, Hiccup reached forward to pat Toothless' head.

"Remember bud, we don't need to kill them. We just need to scare them enough that they'll return to their nest. Then we'll see about getting our ol' friends to cooperate with us." The Night Fury looked back with one wide pupil and chuffed. Nodding in return, Hiccup raised his mask and hood just as Toothless nosed over in a steep dive. "Here we go…"

Together, man and dragon screamed towards a large group of Deadly Nadders attempting to break into a locked storehouse. The battle below seemed to freeze as all eyes looked up to search for the unseen Night Fury. When they were just one-hundred feet from the ground, Toothless fired a plasma blast that exploded over the Nadders heads, startling them and sending them squawking into the air, rattled but alive.

For ten minutes they repeated the process, Toothless startling his kin with close range explosions or snatching them up in his claws to physically throw them into the air once again. Hiccup also sent dragons running with his own fireballs and fear spells, his magic proving too much for the single-minded creatures. Several times, the hotheaded Vikings below attempted to fire on the duo with catapults or ballista. Hiccup would destroy the projectile with powerful thunderbolts before they could hit their mark, then eliminate the launcher with a fireball until eventually the Berkians realized that they couldn't hit them and stopped trying to shoot them down, instead focusing on whatever dragons still remained in the village.

In less than twenty minutes, the sky was filled with roaring, squawking dragons, most of them too afraid to continue the attack but unwilling to return to the nest empty handed. But the village was empty and the Vikings watched the circling dragons nervously, waiting for the monsters to reinitiate the attack on their home. Realizing that it was their time to act, Hiccup angled Toothless for the center of the draconic cyclone where they would be visible to all. In the light of the torches and fires, it was painfully obvious that Toothless was far larger than any of the attacking dragons and both they and the Vikings below could only stare in awe at his size and stature.

Hiccup, seeing that they had everyone's attention, rose to stand in the stirrups. Drawing in a deep breath, he spoke in Dovahzul, allowing his Thu'um to leak into the speech, giving it the power and volume needed to reach everyone listening.

 **"** **Bovul Daar Golt Nu, Uv Aus Fin Bah Do Hin Thur!" ( _Flee this place, or suffer the wrath of your lord!)_ ** The ground shook beneath the villager's feet and the sky trembled from the power of Hiccup's thu'um. The dragon's howled and roared with fear and terror of this mysterious new Alpha and to emphasize the point Toothless unleashed a sky-shattering roar that sent every single dragon running with their tails between their legs, it even caused a few Vikings to faint from fear themselves.

With the dragons no longer a problem, Hiccup turned his attention to the village and the Vikings below him. Toothless slowly hovered closer to the ground, his eyes narrowed to thin slits and his razor sharp teeth bared in warning, a low growl rolled from his throat. Finally he stopped above one of the larger houses as Hiccup flipped the lever to give him control and slid down the dragon's tail to the top of the house. Vikings appeared all around him, staring and wondering what it was that this masked man had done to create such awesome power. What it was this masked man wanted.

~oOo~

Astrid emerged from the Great Hall alongside her fellow teens and the rest of the Vikings inside. Outside, dragons both filled the air and prowled on the ground, seeking livestock and stores of food to steal. Drawing her axe, she shouted a war cry and charged into the fray, followed by Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Together, the three teens attacked a group of Gronckles stealing racks of drying fish.

When the Gronckles had been successfully driven away, they turned their attention to a group of Nadders trying to break into one of the storehouses. But they had barely taken fifteen steps when the heart-stopping shriek of the Night Fury filled the air. The cry of "Night Fury" was echoed by many throughout the village, but when the great beast attacked, it didn't target weaponry or buildings, instead, its purple-blue fireball exploded over the heads of the very Nadders that Astrid and the Twins were targeting, startling them and sending them flying into the air with nothing to show for their effort. Silence reigned until Tuffnut found his voice.

"What in the name of Loki just happened?!" he shouted as he stared at the Nadders obliviously. "I don't know?" Said Astrid as she scanned the sky for the dark silhouette of the black beast. "I think it's that guy from the other night, the one who killed Alvin. But why is he helping us again? _Who is he?_ ...Come on!" She led the two Thorstons down a narrow avenue and directly into the path of a flaming Monstrous Nightmare. They moved to attack once again as the dragon noticed their presence, but again the Night Fury streaked in. For the briefest moment Astrid and the Twins caught sight of the beast as it snatched the smaller Nightmare in its claws and sent it careening into the air. Cursing, Astrid led the Twins down another road towards the catapults and other defenses.

As they approached, they watched as a pair of catapults lobbed boulders into the sky, aiming for the black dragon soaring above. The three young Vikings watched intently to see if they might manage to hit the flying demon. But to their awe, the missiles were struck mid-air by twin lightning bolts that annihilated the stones into nothingness.

"More magic!? Seriously?" grumbled Astrid dejectedly. The Twins however were smiling widely at the wanton destruction. A pair of fireballs were sent from the rider towards the catapults that had attacked them and struck the weapons dead on, producing large explosions that ignited the wood and metal and sent the Vikings atop them falling to the ground below. "Awesome! Do it again!" Shouted Tuffnut with glee. Shaking her head, Astrid grabbed one of the horns on his helmet and pulled him along behind her towards the Great Hall where most of the Vikings were beginning to gather, Ruffnut following closely behind. "Come on you two! We need to find the Chief."

By the time they reached the Great Hall, every dragon that had been attacking the village was circling in the air, roaring and squawking with rage in a confused mass of wings and scales. Astrid looked around and spotted Snotlout and Fishlegs standing beside Stoic, Snotlout's father Spitelout, and Gobber, watching the devilish cyclone above.

She immediately angled towards the Chief as he stared up into the sky with an open mouth and wide eyes. "Chief! What are we supposed to do here?" She asked as she stopped next to him. He glanced down at her and shook his head. "I'm not sure Astrid. I've never seen anything like this before." At that instant, the Night Fury flew into the torchlight and stopped, hovering in the very center of the cyclone of dragons.

It was MASSIVE! Easily five or six times the size of a Monstrous Nightmare and it made every dragon she had ever seen look pathetic in comparison. What looked like dark armor covered its body from its neck to the tip of his tail. Around her, Astrid could hear Vikings gasping with surprise and fear; likely most of them had never seen a dragon of such size before. It made her knees weak to think that there might be others out there like it. From the saddle at the base of its neck rose the rider and he spoke to the dragons in a voice and a language that set the ground to shaking and knocked many of the villagers, including the Twins and Fishlegs, off their feet.

 **"** **Bovul Daar Golt Nu, Uv Aus Fin Bah Do Hin Thur!"** It looked like he was talking directly to the dragons, and whatever he said made them roar and howl even more. Then, his dragon released an ear-shattering roar, that sent the other dragons running and caused several villagers to faint from fear. Even Stoic, the indomitable, invincible Viking Chief, looked pale and gaunt in the face of such power.

When the last dragon had disappeared into the night, the rider and his Night Fury turned to face the crowd as they slowly descended closer and closer to the ground, the beast baring its razor sharp teeth while it released a low growl that vibrated the air around them. The ebony dragon stopped a short distance above one of the houses and the rider quickly climbed down its tail to the rooftop below. When he made no move to address them, Stoic stepped forward with Gobber and spoke first.

"Who are you? And why do you keep helping us? What do you want from us?" The man stepped lightly from the roof and landed before the chief and blacksmith in a flurry of black cloth, his figure shrouded by a cloak that looked like it was made from dragon scales. He stood, and for the first time Astrid realized just how tall he was. He easily met the chief eye-to-eye and towered a full head and shoulders over her. Astrid and her friends moved closer to the three men and she could see that like before, his face was hidden by that hideous mask beneath the shadows of the cowl. The Night Fury continued to hover over the village, buffeting the air every few minutes with his powerful wing beats.

The man seemed to hesitate before reaching up and pushing his hood back, revealing his shock of brown hair and braids. "I will answer your questions chief of the Hooligans, but I ask that you and your people stay your weapons against me and my dragon. What I have to say is imperative to your survival and the survival of every tribe in this archipelago." Then he reached up and slowly lowered the mask from his face, almost hesitantly. Emerald eyes and a clean shaven face met the villagers and he cleared his throat before speaking in that same deep tenor as before, although now it rung clear as a bell, not muffled by the material of the mask.

"My name is Ysmir, Last of the Dragonborn and a foreigner to your world. I came here at the behest of my father, the God Akatosh, Chief of the Nine Divines of Tamriel, and your own gods of Asgard to hunt down and destroy the creature plaguing your islands." At the mention of Dragonborn and their gods, the Vikings in the crowd broke out in whispers and many looked at the masked man with skepticism written across their faces.

He addressed Stoic. "I understand your peoples skepticism and give you my word of honor that what I say is true and that I am not here as an enemy to you." He paused for a moment and his dragon gave a low hiss that spurred him into action. "I am willing to go into further details about the nature of my being here, but I don't think that the middle of the street is the best place to discuss such things. Perhaps you would prefer to relocate our meeting to the Great Hall?" He met the chiefs gaze evenly, neither confrontational nor defensive. Stoic glanced to Gobber questioningly. The blacksmith shrugged and Stoic nodded to the rider.

"I find it hard to believe anything you say... but we owe you a debt for aiding us against the Outcasts as well as those dragons. We'll meet in the Great Hall to discuss these claims of yours, but not tonight. Call your dragon, you can rest here for the night and in the morning we'll hold a council. " He stepped forward in an attempt to intimidate the man, Ysmir, with his size. "But be warned. If you or your monster so much as sneeze without my permission I'll personally bury an axe in your heads." It failed miserably.

Without flinching, Ysmir turned to look up to where his dragon was still hovering above the village. With a simple nod, he called the Night Fury. The dragon lowered to the street and landed with a barely a sound. Gasps filled the crowd. Here before them stood the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself, garbed in black armor that matched its rider. Like a jungle cat, the legendary creature stalked silently through the village after its master.

With one last look at the dragon in their midst, Stoic turned and marched up to the Great Hall, followed by Ysmir, Gobber, and the Night Fury. Astrid and the rest of the Vikings watched them go, before gradually dispersing and returning to their own homes. Astrid watched closely as they left, her eyes never leaving the man's face. He was still emotionless, likely he didn't want to unintentionally cause a confrontation. But what had he meant by Dragonborn? And what was he talking about when he said the gods of Asgard? Had he truly spoken to the divines or was this all just an elaborate ploy to distract them from some unknown goal of his?

In any other situation she would have written him off as a lunatic. A madman who had burned his mind away with alcohol or some other substance. But he didn't act like a drunk. His movements were careful…calculated. Just like his dragon. Both of them were graceful predators in their own unique ways. His magic abilities also supported his case. He said he was a visitor to this world. Maybe in his world magic was normal and he was no different from anyone else there? Maybe everyone in his world was as dangerous as he was?

These thoughts and more ran through her mind as she made her way back to her house and settled down for a restless night.


	8. Roundtable Rivals

**A/N: I'm back and I'm sorry. You have no idea how shocking it was that people were not only reading this but also seemingly enjoying it. I must warn you that my interests change constantly. One day I'll want to write this story and the next few days I'll be thinking about a Skyrim/Inheritance Cycle fic, and the next week it'll be Star Wars or Claymore. But I promise, I will do my very best to finish this story. So have patience and if I don't update within a month, PM me out the wazoo and it should kick my but in gear.  
I am going back to school soon so I'll have a much more structured schedule that should make it easier to "Find"/Make time to write. Thanks for all the reviews, Flames welcome and BloodshotJW, the pairing is HiccupxAstrid for the most part. Thank you.**

~oOo~

The next day at dawn, the council met in the Great Hall, Stoic leading the way with Gobber by his side. Hiccup was already awake and waiting when they entered and they quickly began the meeting. The first question that was asked was about how he had managed to tame a dragon and where he was from. Slightly surprised that those were what the Vikings wanted to know first, he fashioned a fake story of his finding Toothless as an egg and describing Skyrim to them. Then they asked questions of who he was and how he had come to their land. Hiccup spent several hours recounting the tales of his endeavors through Skyrim, his position as Dragonborn and what that meant, and some of the lore from Nirn. He finished by telling them about his meeting with Odin and Freyja and finally his arrival to their world. Questions were raised at every point, but Stoic silenced them all in favor of Hiccup continuing.

He spent the next hour explaining why he had come to the archipelago and about the Red Death. Some of the Vikings seemed scared, mostly those worried about their children or other family members. Others seemed eager, ready to take vengeance against the devils that had plagued them for years, and more recently in the last few weeks. Stoic was still unreadable and Gobber just kept watching his former apprentice with narrowed eyes.

"The part I don't understand," began Stoic as he stared at a map of the surrounding islands. "Is why you need us? If any of what you've told us is true, it would seem that you could handle this entire situation on your own. You've proven your skills enough already. Helping us fend off the Outcast attack and killing Alvin. Not only that, but just last night you helped us drive off a horde of dragons. It seems to me that if you truly wanted to kill this thing, you'd have done it already." Toothless hissed angrily at the implied insult to his partner, causing frightened looks throughout the room.

Hiccup nodded as his father spoke. He had assumed that this would come up at some point. Shrugging, he met his father's steely gaze. "I honestly have no answer for you. You're correct, I've fought and killed dragons that make Nightmares and Skrills look like fuzzy kittens. No matter what this Red Death is I'm sure that Toothless and I could handle it easily." Some of the Vikings were eying him with strange looks.

Hiccup continued anyways. "But…I also know that this is the last island remaining with a sizeable source of food. The other islands have been all but destroyed and they have nothing left to offer the dragons. The people have been forced into caves or deep into the woods to survive. They have nothing left to offer the dragons and if I want to find one that can lead me to the queen I would have had to come here anyways." He hesitated momentarily as he thought of why else he had returned.

"It's also not in my nature to just stand by and watch when others are in need, my father taught me to protect my own but I believe that such an idea is shortsighted and weak. The world is cruel enough as it is without people being selfish and cold. I could have very easily stood by and watched as Alvin and his Outcasts plundered and burned this place to the ground. It wasn't my fight and it certainly would be no hair off my chest. I owe you people nothing. But I decided to assist you and now we're working towards at least something resembling a partnership." Most of the War Council looked hopelessly withdrawn as he spoke and the weight of his words washed over them. None of them had truly realized how much they owed him and his dragon.

"Maybe it was insanity but I really felt no need to keep myself secret any longer than I did, none of you can touch me, you certainly won't survive without my help, and even if you did Toothless would annihilate this island faster than you could say 'Sheep'. As it stands, I need a place to set up camp and this is the only viable option. On top of that, it will be easier for me to deal with this dragon threat without having to watch my back for you and you're warriors. What you choose to do next will be the difference between your survival, or your possible annihilation."

His speech seemed to have an effect on most of the Vikings in the room, all except Stoic who merely narrowed his eyes and cupped his chin with a hand. Nothing was said for several minutes. Finally, the chief spoke.

"Very well, we'll help you defeat this...Red Death," Even some of the War Council seemed surprised by their chief's decision, not to mention Hiccup. "But, I want this problem to end, to be a thing of the past and never have to deal with it again. That being said, I want you to teach us how to tame dragons, and train a group of dragon riders to keep something like this from happening in the future." Now _that_ was unexpected. Even Gobber had a look of bewilderment on his face as he stared at his closest friend.

It took a few moments for Hiccup to find his voice but when he finally did, he was stunned. "Understood, I agree as well. Training them shouldn't take more than a few weeks at the most." A thought struck him and his spirits fell. "I assume you already have some potential candidates in mind for this task?" _Please don't be who I think it is!_ Stoic got a wicked gleam in his eyes. "We have a group of young Vikings who I think would be a great choice. One of them is in line to inherit the throne and another is one of the most skilled warriors we have. I think that in the current situation they will make the best candidates for this task." _Son of a horker…_

Cursing his luck, he nodded. "I assume that I will meet them when we begin." Stoic nodded. Feeling defeated even in the midst of victory, Hiccup ground his teeth at the prospect of dealing with Snotlout and the Twins again. He continued, letting his tone of voice convey his assertion on the situation. "Very well, I am willing to train these prospects of yours, but as long as they are under my tutelage they will do as I say, when I say it, no questions asked and no smart retorts. I don't care if one of them is your heir. One step out of line and Toothless will have a new chew toy, is that clear?" Stoic met his gaze for several seconds before nodding. "Good," said Hiccup. "I'll need a place to train them and dragons to train them with, do you have these things?" Once again Stoic nodded. "Aye, we have an arena where young Vikings are trained to fight dragons, a number of different beasts are kept there in cages, they'll meet your needs well enough." Hiccup nodded. Likely they would have at least one of each species, maybe even a few different ones from before. "Then you have a deal."

~oOo~

Astrid stood outside the Great Hall with her friends, watching the doors eagerly for any sign that the War Council was over. It was approaching midday already and they had been in there for hours. Around her, her friends sat performing different mundane tasks to alleviate the boredom. Snotlout and Tuffnut were playing a game in the dirt, Ruffnut was braiding her hair, boredom written across her face, and Fishlegs was reading the Book of Dragons, again. So far they had been quiet, but eventually one of them was bound to break the silence. Tuffnut was the first to voice his complaints.

"How long are they gonna be in there for? I'm starving!" His sister looked at him with annoyance. "Shut your mouth you mutton head. No-one wants to hear it." Snotlout interceded on his friend's behalf. "He's right though. Couldn't they at least have waited until after breakfast before they started? I mean really, what's the point?" Astrid shook her head in frustration as she turned back to face the doors of the Great Hall. "Actually," Fishlegs decided to join the conversation. "They do it so early so that the opposing faction will be at a disadvantage. If they're tired and hungry during the negotiations, they're more likely to make a mistake in their wording which allows the War Council to exploit them more easily. It's a dirty underhanded strategy," He got a deadly gleam in his eyes and an evil smile on his face as he rubbed his hands together. "But oh does it work." He broke off into a bout of evil laughter as all of his friends looked at him like he had gone mad.

"Yeah sure, whatever." Snotlout's voice was filled with cynicism. "Well you guys can stay here and be boring; I'm going to go get something to eat and keep being awesome." Snotlout leapt to his feet and began sauntering his way up the steps to the Great Hall. Tuffnut immediately followed with Ruffnut and Fishlegs behind him, all four of them chattering away loudly. Astrid was tempted to remain where she was but she was also hungry. She had only been halfway through her dinner last night when the attack started and was also eager to eat. Shaking her head angrily, Astrid took off after her friends.

The five were halfway up the staircase when the doors burst open and a wall of black scales and armor blocked their path. The Night Fury slipped through the double doors and emerged into the sunlight. They froze as the cloaked man emerged behind his dragon followed by Stoic and the Council. The man once again wore his hideous black mask and his hood was pulled up over his head. He turned back to face the Chief before he spoke.

"I will be expecting them at the arena by dawn tomorrow, and they had better be ready to work. I assure you it will be grueling, and even more so if they're late." Stoic nodded and waved his hand dismissively. "  
They'll be there, and they'll be more than able to handle anything you throw at them. Don't you worry about that." The man nodded and turned to his dragon. With a nod, the beast leapt into the sky and shot straight up into the clouds, disappearing from sight. Everyone watched it go before Gobber stepped forward.

"Alright, if you come with me I'll show you to the Dragon Arena and introduce you to the beasts there." He motioned for the cloaked man to follow him as he began hobbling down the stairs towards the village. After a moment, the man followed, quickly catching up with the one legged Viking.

Astrid watched him go before turning back to Stoic, the Chief had quickly dismissed the council following the rider's departure and he turned to address the five young Vikings.

"Ah Astrid, you're here. Good. I need to talk to the five of you about our meeting with the rider…Ysmir." The name sounded strange on the chief's lips and he shook his head before motioning for them to follow him back into the Great Hall. "Come on, we have a lot to talk about

Together they all entered the Great Hall once again and gathered around one of the tables at the back end of the chamber. When they were all seated, Stoic looked each of them dead in the eye before speaking. He explained to them what the meeting had been about, the rider and the Red Death. He explained that the Red Death was an alpha dragon in control of the others, and that they were raiding the villages for food to feed it. Then he explained his and Ysmir's plan to deal with the menace. A cooperation between both sides to destroy the Red Death before it could destroy them.

"The point of this is to solve the problem and keep it solved. We don't need a repeat of this to happen a year from now when we don't have some crazy Night Fury riding lunatic to aid us. That being said, I've decided that you five will learn from him and become riders yourselves." His words were met with open mouths and wide eyes, each of the young Vikings too stunned by his words to speak. "He has agreed to teach us how to tame the beasts, and he's agreed to teach you lot how to ride them. You start in the morning at the Arena." He leaned forward and spoke in a more serious tone, looking pointedly at Astrid and Snotlout.

"I've chosen you five because you're the best we have. You're our best warriors and one of you is our heir. I expect you to show this outsider what True Vikings are made of. Don't let him see how tired you are even if you feel like you wanna fall over and die. Don't show him any weakness. I'm not entirely sure that he isn't some kind of spy and I don't want to give him any reason to doubt out ability to defend ourselves."[

Snotlout preened at the mention of his position as heir. "Don't worry chief, we'll teach this weakling how real warriors fight!" The others seemed to share his sentiment. All except Astrid who had remained silent as she stared at the food on her plate with uncertainty written across her face. Stoic noticed his greatest warrior's silence.

"Astrid, what's wrong lass?" he asked quietly, drawing the attention of everyone else. The shield maiden shook her head. "Nothing chief, I'm just having a hard time imagining us actually training and riding dragons. Especially from some man we don't even know. It's all just a lot to take in at the moment."

Stoic nodded in understanding. "I can understand how you feel. I don't particularly like the idea of putting you all in harm's way more than you would already be but it can't be helped. If we can eliminate this dragon and solve this problem once and for all It'll save us centuries of trouble. I wouldn't have agreed to any of this unless I was confident that you could do it." He stood and grabbed his tankard of ale. "Remember, tomorrow at dawn. Gobber and the rider will be waiting for you." He walked off, leaving the five young Vikings to think about what they were about to be thrown into.


	9. Catching up on old times

Hiccup knew something funny was going on when Gobber turned him down a street in the opposite direction of the Training Arena, instead leading him towards the Forge and Armory. He held his tongue however, feigning ignorance until Gobber finally led him inside the forge, the temperature rising significantly from the heat of the forge.

Hiccup was pleased to note that he had to duck to get through the low doorway, happy with the realization that he had finally achieved the _vikingesque_ stature his father had always wanted and complained about his son not having.

He followed Gobber in and the old Viking wandered over to far side of the room and took a seat at one of the many work benches around the outer wall, across from the forge. Hiccup stood there, awkwardly before finally clearing his throat and speaking.

"I was under the impression that you were going to show me the training arena, and unless my eyes deceive me, this is the forge." To Hiccup's surprise, Gobber gave him a very knowing look before waving his good hand dismissively and answering.

"Oh I'm sure ye can remember where the training ring is just fine. After all, ye were at the top of yer class for weeks before ye left." Hiccup cursed as he heard those words. But he couldn't be sure that Gobber knew what he was talking about. He feigned innocence.

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about." He said. Gobber chuckled lightly before glaring pointedly at the eyeholes of Kendov.

"Ye can drop the charade Hiccup. I know it's you and I promise I won't say a peep until you're good and ready to tell everyone else." Hiccup sighed in resignation before reaching up and pulling Kendov from his face and pushing his hood back. He tucked the mask into his cloak and ruffled his hair to loosen it before looking at Gobber.

"What gave me away?" he asked quietly. Gobber chuckled and adjusted his position on the stool. "Oh it wasn't hard to figure out. Or did you forget. I spent more time with you than anyone else in this village, including yer father." Hiccup sighed and moved to the edge of the forge, leaning against the superheated stones, completely oblivious to the intense heat. Gobber raised an eyebrow questioningly but didn't say anything.

Hiccup shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't really know what to say. I never thought I would ever have to come back here. I never had time to think about what I'd say if I did." He looked questioningly at the old blacksmith. "Are you mad at me?"

Gobber scratched his chin before waving his hand flippantly. "Oh I was probably a little upset with ye right after ye left, but I always knew ye didn't fit in around here…not that that was a bad thing," He added hastily. Hiccup snorted and walked across the room to begin organizing Gobber's prosthetic cabinet, finding that it was now child's play to lift the fake hands he used to need both arms for. "But I always had a feeling ye wouldn't be gone for good. For some reason I couldn't ever find a real reason to be mad at ye." Gobber continued. "So, how did you really train that Night Fury?"

Hiccup finished organizing the cabinet and turned back to face Gobber. For the next hour he explained what had really happened with Toothless, and how he had learned how to fly with his best friend, how they were bonded closer than brothers.

Gobber listened with rapt attention to his former apprentice's tale. Finally, when Hiccup was done, Gobber sighed and nodded. "Well, that explains a lot actually. It's good to know the full story though." He shifted on his stool and Hiccup caught a glance of something behind Gobber that gave him pause.

"What's that there?" he asked, pointing. Gobber looked over his shoulder where Hiccup was pointing and grabbed something from the workbench, half covered by parchment paper and leather. It was the dagger that Hiccup had lost three days before while he was bathing.

He looked at the dagger in his hands and then back at Hiccup. "I suppose this is yours?" he asked, holding the dagger out for Hiccup to take. Hiccup nodded and took it. "Aye, where did you get it?" he asked as he examined the blade. Gobber nodded towards the distant Great Hall.

"Astrid brough' it in a few days ago, said she found it in the woods and asked me to figure out what it was made of, and where it came from. I guess _found_ would really mean _stole_ , from our deadly, Dragon-riding, ally." Hiccup glared out the window towards the Great Hall. "Yes, I suppose I'll have to find a way to punish her." He mindlessly twirled the blade as he thought of some way to make her pay for stealing from him.

"Hmm, I guess I shoulda' recognized the design, it matches everything else you wear. 'Cept that freaky mask you got." Gobber's comment interrupted his thoughts and Hiccup chuckled as he sheathed the dagger and pulled Kendov from the folds of his cloak, holding it out for the elder blacksmith to examine. Gobber took the mask and looked closely at the design and forgery.

"Impressive… smooth, balanced, lightweight, and sturdy. You forge this eh?" He asked handing the mask back to Hiccup. Hiccup took the mask and tucked it back into his cloak and nodded. "Aye, everything I have on me I forged myself." He held his cloak out to show Gobber the full view of his daedric riding armor and the array of weapons. A sight that impressed Gobber both with its quality, and the sheer ferocity and elegance of the equipment. His former apprentice was a very deadly, very capable man.

"Hmm, wha's it made of though? I've never seen metal like that before?" Hiccup dropped his cloak and sat back down on the edge of the forge. Once again oblivious to the searing heat he was sitting inches away from.

For several hours he explained everything he knew about forging daedric armor and the two swapped stories of their creations. Gobber was once again amazed at the talent and skill that Hiccup demonstrated with his stories. The lad had apparently not only forged his own incredible armor and weapons, but also his dragon's dark grey armor as well and the mechanism that allowed the beast to fly without half of its tail.

Unfortunately, the pair of blacksmiths were interrupted by a knock at the entrance to the forge, and the arrival of one of the villagers, carrying an axe with a broken handle. He seemed shocked that the village's dragon-riding visitor was at the forge but didn't leave. Gobber and Hiccup both realized that they had been taking up a lot of valuable business time reminiscing and catching up on old times and Hiccup decided it was time to take his leave, slipping back into the character of Ysmir once again.

"Thank you for showing me the forge sir, I'll be sure to come to you for anything I need." He replaced his mask and hood once again before marching out the door with a nod to his old mentor.

From the forge, he marched through the streets of Berk towards the Arena, reliving old memories and sensations along the way. He noted with pleasure however, that any villagers that he passed along his way moved quickly out of the way, the sight of him, shrouded in his black scale cloak, with his unnerving mask and hood and a massive sword across his back was enough to make even the most hardened of warriors shiver. For some however, it wasn't his appearance that frightened them. It was the complete and utter silence with which he walked. Like he was an evil phantom moving among them, seeking an unwary soul to steal and carry back to the underworld.

He reached the Arena quickly and made his way down the entrance ramp, easily lifting the heavy iron gate that locked the beasts, and their opponents, inside. Over the years the villagers had added several new cages, making the total number of cages eight. He remembered the different cages that held each dragon. The Terrible Terror, the Hideous Zippleback, the Deadly Nadder, the Monstrous Nightmare, and the Gronckle.

Walking along the wall, he slammed his fist against the gates, each time listening for the distinctive sounds of each dragon. The Terror cage had an enraged little occupant, slamming its small frame against the wooden doors hard enough to rattle the thick metal chains. The Zippleback hissed and roared simultaneously, a small amount of its distinctive green gas leaking out from behind the door. Smirking, Hiccup snapped his fingers, releasing a small spark that ignited the gas, creating a muffled explosion behind the door that caused the sounds behind that door to fade quickly.

He continued and heard the distinctive squawking of the Nadder behind its cage door. The Nightmare slammed its considerable girth against the door but the locks held firm, not that Hiccup was worried that it would get out. He could wrestle with dragons many times larger than any Nightmare. This one would be no problem. The Gronckle roared and scratched at the walls violently but likewise remained bound.

One of the other three cages contained a dragon, but he couldn't recognize it by its sounds, he'd have to wait until he could get the cage open tomorrow to see what it was. Finally, he walked to the center of the ring, listening to the sounds of the dragons, clawing and roaring behind their cage doors.

Drawing in a deep breath, he allowed his Thu'um to enter into his voice and spoke a single word. **"Drem…"** Peace, the word washed over the entire arena and gently vibrated the air with its power. Instantly the dragons relaxed within their cages, soothed by the power of his voice and the authority he carried as an Alpha.

Hiccup remained there for several minutes more, studying the arena and thinking about how he was going to start off the training tomorrow. Knowing the group he was training, he was going to have to show them that he was in charge, and that he wasn't going to take any of the crap they were likely to give him.

Snotlout would brag and bluster endlessly unless he was swiftly and painfully shown his place. The Twins wouldn't listen to a word he said unless he shut them down in a similar manner. Fishlegs would listen, but he would question everything he said, something that, when dragons were involved, could get him or someone else killed. And Astrid, well she had already stolen something from him, that in itself would require a punishment, and she was just as headstrong as Snotlout, she would also need to be put in her place at the bottom of the hierarchy.

A cruel smirk crossed his features as an idea came to his head. Something that would make life miserable for all of them, while at the same time aiding in their training. He spun on his heel and left the ring, making his way back through the town and into the forest, his mind working on what was going to come the next day.


	10. Authors Note!

⁓ **oOo⁓**

 **A/N: Okay everyone, I know some of you will probably be upset with me because you just got a notification that this got updated and instead of being a new chapter it's a stupid Author's Email. But bear with me, its important. I have unfortunately slammed face first into the Great Wall of China of writer's block. I have been receiving sporadic emails from some of you about updating and I really want to but for whatever reason I cannot think of any way to continue this next part. My hope is that if I can get out the next chapter I'll be able to kickstart my writing desire once again and burn out a few more good chapters. In addition, I have been completely busy with life right now. I'm in my freshman year of college taking a load and a half, as well as a part time job, aaaaaand training for the military after college, which basically means I get up at 4:30 each morning and go to the gym and then go again at the end of the day, which means that I have to try and be in bed by 8:30pm to be ready for the next day.**

 **All that to say that I want your guy's help. I would love any ideas and thoughts any of you have about what I should do with the training of the Berkian Riders. I want my inbox to be flooded with all of your great ideas and I'll sift through them and try to incorporate as many as I possibly can into the story. And feel free to include any ideas for later on.**

 **All my love and thanks to you guys and your patience. Sorry its taking so long, I want to continue for you guys and finish what I started!**

 **\- King Friendzone**


End file.
